The Walking Dead may be on its annual midseason hiatus, but we’ve definitely had plenty to talk about in regards to AMC’s involvement in the zombie apocalypse. We’ve been hearing about the spinoff, or companion series as they appear to prefer it be called, now titled Cobalt, for some time, but the network has recently revealed details and pieced together the core cast, and they just added another actor. The upcoming zombie drama will feature Kim Dickens as the female lead.

Dickens is the forth of the major part to be cast and, according to Deadline, she joins Cliff Curtis, Frank Dillane, and Alycia Debnam Carey. I don’t know much about the two younger actors, but you’ve seen Dillane in one of the Harry Potter movies playing Tom Riddle, and Aussie Debnam Carey made her American debut last summer with Into the Storm, and can be seen playing a Grounder leader on The CW’s The 100. Curtis and Dickens, however, are more known quantities, and should serve as a solid anchor for this new series.

If you’ve ever watched AMC’s mega-hit The Walking Dead, then you know that no one is safe. That’s kind of their jam, that anyone can die at any time. Robert Kirkman’s comics are the same way, but even though the series follows the same rough pattern as the source material, that doesn’t mean characters that are still alive in on the pages can’t die off on screen. They’re not afraid to kill of kids, the elderly, people you love, people you hate; you name it, they’ll kill it. Kirkman even recently hinted that one fan favorite could be next on the chopping block.

There are SPOILERS beyond this point if you’re not 100% caught up on The Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead has been going strong for four-and-a-half seasons at this point, but we’ve really only ever explored Georgia. No offense to the Peach Tree State, but we’d like to see what’s going on elsewhere in the world, to check out how other folks cope with being overrun by hungry undead cannibals. That’s where the long-gestating spinoff comes in. We know that it is called Cobalt, we even know a couple of the main actors, but we weren’t sure where it is set, until now. And the setting couldn’t be any more different from rural Georgia, as the action takes place in Los Angeles.

TV Line reports that the zombie apocalypse is indeed spreading to the City of Angels. Not only is that more than 2000 miles away from Atlanta, but it’s also a totally opposite environment. Sure, the core series has ventured into Atlanta a time or two, but they primarily stick to the small towns and less densely settled areas. Setting the series in a major urban center, in such a population center, automatically makes this a different kind of narrative, which is exactly what we want out of a new show.

On AMC’s The Walking Dead, the character of Carl, played by Chandler Riggs, is hugely divisive among fans. We even included the son of protagonist Rick Grimes on our list of annoying sci-fi characters we would like to see die on screen. I’m of the camp that he’s in the process of becoming a solid character (the same can be said about most of the cast members), but in Robert Kirkman’s comics that serve as the source material, this isn’t as big an issue, he’s a little borderline sociopathic badass. But this is The Walking Dead we’re talking about, and no one lives forever, and the reveal of a few upcoming covers have people speculating on Carl’s future in the comics.

There are SPOILERS beyond here for those of you not current on The Walking Dead comics. Just a warning.

The first half of The Walking Dead season 5 is in the books. As usual, they wrapped things up with a bang, and while the hit zombie drama is on its annual mid-season hiatus, there is still a lot for fans to talk about. Now AMC has released this new video of the cast and crew discussing the future of the post-apocalyptic survivors as they move into new episodes starting next year.

You probably already guessed this, but if you’re not caught up on this season of The Walking Dead, you might want to sit this one out because we’re taking a trip to spoiler country for the next few hundred words. If you’re current, however, by all means, continue, and watch the aforementioned video below.

The Walking Dead kills people. If you’ve watched AMC’s hit zombie drama for any period of time, you’re well aware of this. In fact, the series has gone to great lengths to create an environment where no one is safe, where no one is unkillable. That was on full display this past weekend when the mid-season finale killed off a fan favorite character. It wasn’t an unexpected move, but it made some people incredibly angry, and a group of fans are taking an unusual approach to rectify the situation.

It should go without saying that if you haven’t watched the most recent episode of The Walking Dead, “Coda,” and if you care about having things spoiled, stop reading now. There are SPOILERS beyond this point.